The IDF “will not apologize for doing everything it can to defend Israel’s borders from terror organizations and the countries who sponsor them, who seek to harm the Israeli home front,” Adraee said.

“We’ve seen enough attempts to smuggle weapons via the sea in an effort to arm extremist terror organizations – for instance, the Victoria, the Karin-A and the Santorini. All sailed under a foreign flag, seemingly innocent. So it is no wonder that Israel must examine all vessels sailing toward the Gaza Strip…”

The “aid groups” taking part in the flotillas are “groups working to undermine Israel’s legitimacy to defend its borders by land, air and sea. These organizations serve as a cover for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Israel welcomes the transfer of all cargo to Gaza through the land crossings after being properly checked, Maj. Adraee explained. “This unnecessary flotilla and the resolve of its organizers to sail reveals their true intentions and proves that this is a flotilla of hate which aims to destroy instead of building.”

A 2008 interview by Dr. Mordechai Kedar on Al Jazeera television is widely considered to be the most powerful single message in Arabic by an Israeli in recent years. Kedar’s message on the centrality of Jerusalem in Judaism left his interviewer dumbstruck.